He lifted his head after a while and spoke faintly, “Thank you for the trouble you’ve taken in these few days.”
Yan felt overwhelmed by him and shook her head. “It’s no trouble. However… I would like to see Muzi. Can I?” Even though her dream man was important to her, her best friend was even more important. In Yan’s heart, she was more worried about Han Muzi.
“Go in then.”
When Yan was brought to Han Muzi’s ward, she saw that Su Jiu was taking care of her. The latter saw Yan and loosened up her face. “Yan? Are you done with everything in X Country?”
“Yes. Everything is handled. I’ve heard that Muzi got a fever, right?”
Both of them whispered on purpose to prevent Han Muzi from waking up. Su Jiu then nodded. “Yes. It’s a serious one too, but we can’t simply medicate her because she is pregnant, so the doctor advised us to use physical cooling.”
Yan cried out in alarm when she heard the news, “She really is pregnant?”
Su Jiu squinted her eyes and gave Yan a thorough look as if she had just caught something. “Listening to your tone, you already knew that Muzi is pregnant, did you? What about her? Does she know about it?” At this point, Su Jiu could not help but frown. If Han Muzi ran around with the knowledge that she was pregnant, then the consequences… would be devastating.
“It’s only my guess. Muzi and I had a chat about it the last time, but both of us weren’t sure. Muzi even thought of seeing the doctor after the wedding, but who would have thought…” The two of them remained silent and did not speak any further.
A few seconds after that, Yan took the towel from Su Jiu’s hand and said softly, “Let me do it. It used to be me who took care of her when she was sick before, so I know some of her habits.”
As long as it was beneficial to Han Muzi’s health, Su Jiu would not argue about it. Soon after that, she handed the towel over to Yan. Next, it was Yan who took care of Han Muzi.
Han Muzi continuously had a high fever, which caused her mind to be in a disarray and murmur a few words occasionally. It was obvious from her words that she was not herself. Yan only comforted her gently while taking care of her. During this period, Han Qing and the doctor also came in and out a few times.
It was not until the middle of the night that Han Muzi’s fever finally broke as her breathing gradually reverted to its calm state. Yan sat beside her bed and saw the news while she was trying to get up.
The news reported that there was still hope for the survivors rescued on the first day as those who were sent to the hospital were saved. However, after the storm that night, the lives still at sea faded all at once. All they did during the rescue on the next day was pull up the lifeless bodies. In spite of that, Han Qing said that Ye Moxuan was yet to be found, which meant he was not in that group of survivors, but where was his body? The two of them have gone through so many hardships to finally be together. God, why do you need to tear them apart?
Yan’s eyes reddened and swelled up with tears when she thought about how cruel fate was to them.
“Moxuan… come back… Come back,” Han Muzi suddenly spoke in her dreams while Yan was about to burst out in tears. Her voice was so low that Yan placed her ear over her mouth to hear the words. More tears fell from Yan’s eyes when she heard her calling Ye Moxuan’s eyes. “Muzi, don’t worry… Young Master Ye must be reluctant to see you this sad. He will be back.”
…
On the next day, Han Muzi woke up while everyone had their breakfast. There were still some after-effects due to the high fever she had. So, when she woke up, she realized that her arms and legs lacked its strength while all her muscles were in pain. Even her head weighed a ton that it became laborious for her to sit up.
“Muzi, you’re awake. Let me help you up.” Yan leaned close and lifted her up before she sat still beside her bed. Han Qing and Su Jiu also came soon after hearing that she was awake.
As Han Muzi was supported by Yan, she faintly raised her head and smiled at her. “You’re here?”
Yan was dumbfounded before she nodded. “Yes. I’m here.”
“That’s nice.” Her vague voice did not show her emotions. Instead, it was hoarse like she did not quench her thirst after a walk in the desert. After she reached out to gently pat Yan’s hand, she lifted her head and looked toward Han Qing with her pale face. “Qing, is there any news on Moxuan?”
At the same time, Han Qing, Su Jiu and Yan remained silent. As soon as Han Muzi woke up, the first thing she asked about was Ye Moxuan. For the moment, the three of them did not know how to answer her.
However, Yan was quick to react and smiled. “Muzi, you’ve just woken up, so you must be feeling a bit uncomfortable, especially after being unconscious for so long. You must be hungry, right? Do you want some porridge? I’ve prepared different kinds of porridges for you to choose from. Do you prefer to eat the savory one or the sweet one?” Her joyous tone of speech showed how much she wanted to change the subject.
Su Jiu also said the same thing, “She’s right. Your body is still weak after you’ve just woken up. It’s better for you to eat something first then we’ll talk about the rest later.”
Han Muzi was rendered speechless, then she lifted her eyes to look at the three of them. Their faces were not in good shape, which was evident from the shadows around their eyes. It was obvious that they were in such condition because they were taking care of her. If I keep on probing them about the topic, am I letting them down after what they did for me?
Han Muzi nodded gently and answered them.
Yan’s eyes brightened. “Then do you want the sweet one or the savory one?”
“I’m fine with either.”
“I’ll go serve some for you.” Yan quickly got up and served a bowl of sweet porridge for Han Muzi. After that, she sat in front of her with a smile on her thoughtful face. “Come, this is the sweet porridge you used to love when you were in X Country. I’ve just tasted it. This particular shop makes it in a traditional way.” Yan eagerly scooped a spoon of it and brought it toward Han Muzi’s mouth.
The sweet scent of the porridge permeated the air while heat lingered around it. Han Muzi used to love this dish a lot, but when she opened her mouth to eat it, she did not feel any sweetness. She only tasted bitterness. In spite of that, she slowly swallowed it and ate it each time Yan fed her. Her quiet and obedient behaviour actually frightened those present.
Yan carefully lifted the spoon of porridge, but she felt that something was not right. Han Muzi was too quiet and she did not resist at all when she fed her the porridge. Why do I feel that this isn’t her normal reaction? She just asked about Ye Moxuan, but now she is letting me feed her the porridge?
Just as and when Yan started to feel that something was amiss, her feeding rate became slower and slower, which elicited a reaction from Han Muzi. The latter suddenly felt a little uncomfortable and bent her waist over while clutching her stomach. Her pale face looked down before she puked up all the porridge that she just ate.
